Rounding up the rumors and speculation about the supposed 7.85" iPad.

October has been rumored to be the month when we'll get to see Apple's answer to the low-cost, 7-inch Android tablets from the likes of Amazon and Google. Dubbed "iPad mini," the device is expected to cost between $249 and $299, and will largely be geared toward educational markets and cost-conscious consumers who have yet to be enticed by the $399 entry-point for the 10-inch iPad 2.

We don't know for sure when Apple will unveil the device to the public, but the sheer number of rumors and purported parts leaks suggest the device is real—and is coming soon. Here's a quick review of what the device might be like.

Size

The standard iPad sports a 9.7-inch diagonal, 4:3 aspect ratio screen. The iPad mini is widely rumored to maintain that same 4:3 aspect ratio, merely shrinking it down to 7.85 inches in size. That should result in a device that is approximately 35 percent smaller than the iPad overall, and presumably 35 percent lighter, too.

Enlarge/ A comparison of tablet screen sizes, including the rumored 7.85-inch iPad mini.

7-inch Android tablets have largely adopted a 16:9 aspect ratio screen. While the iPhone 5 has adopted this same aspect ratio by slightly extending the vertical pixel count over the iPhone 4 and 4S, it seems more likely that Apple will maintain the 4:3 aspect ratio for a smaller iPad, which will greatly simplify things for application developers.

Back in 2010, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously scoffed at 7-inch tablets as too small to be useful, but Apple SVP of iOS Software Scott Forstall said in August that Jobs had "seemed receptive to the idea" after SVP of Internet Services Eddy Cue suggested that Apple should consider a smaller tablet in early 2011.

Internal hardware

An iPad mini will most likely be powered by the 32nm, lower-power version of the dual-core A5 processor used in the $399 iPad 2 and fifth-generation iPod touch. The iPad 2 has proven performance running with the A5, and the lower power requirements should enable the smaller device to maintain an 8–10 hour battery life. That kind of all-day run time will be particularly important for educational users as iPads are increasingly being integrated into one-to-one technology programs.

The price-busting $199 Google Nexus 7 tablet only comes with 8GB of local storage, but we expect Apple to leverage its long-term NAND flash contracts to include 16GB (Google also sells a 16GB Nexus 7 for $249). Storage will be important for the iPad mini, especially when it comes to loading these devices with interactive textbooks and storing multimedia projects for classwork. Home users will appreciate the added storage for video, audio, and apps.

Apple may offer a 3G/4G-compatible version of the iPad mini, and if so, expect to see the same Qualcomm integrated baseband as the one used in the iPhone 5. However, at these rumored low prices, it seems more likely that the iPad mini will be limited to Wi-Fi only.

Camera

The iPad mini will likely feature a FaceTime camera on the front, perhaps even the 720p FaceTime HD camera of more recent iOS devices. On the back, expect the same 5MP autofocus camera currently on the iPad 3, iPhone 4, and fifth-gen iPod touch. Shooting photos and videos has proven to be important for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, so we don't think Apple will skimp here.

Design

Purported images of the rear of the iPad mini have leaked in the past couple days. The device appears to be like a cross between the new fifth-gen iPod touch and the current iPad. On the bottom are two speaker grilles flanking Apple's new Lightning port; on the side, the usual volume buttons and mute switch. On the top, the headphone jack and power switch. The rear casing appears to be all aluminum, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas hidden behind a plastic Apple logo.

Topeka analyst Brian White cited sources within Apple's supply chain suggesting that the iPad mini may even exceed the current iPad 3 in aesthetics. "Apple did not skimp on the aesthetics of the much anticipated 'iPad Mini,'" White told AllThingsD. "In fact, we believe the 'iPad Mini' could outshine the new iPad in terms of how the device feels in a consumer's hands."

Addressing consumer appeal, Gizmodo editor Jesus Diaz argued that Apple may offer the iPad mini in different anodized colors, like the new iPod touch and iPod nano. There haven't been any rumors to this effect—and logistics of offering various colors may eat into what could be already thin profit margins—but we like the idea, too.

Price

Our own Andrew Cunningham suggested that Apple will likely price the iPad mini at $299. That's the exact same price as the new fifth-gen iPod touch, and it seems like the hardware will be largely the same. However, as Andrew noted, the iPod touch is designed to fit in a pocket, whereas an iPad mini serves a different audience. "Apple isn't too worried about a little overlap as long as its products are sufficiently differentiated," he wrote.

Others believe that Apple may push the price down as low as $249 in order to attract price-sensitive buyers and avoid ceding any more market share to the likes of the Kindle Fire HD or Nexus 7.

$299 is a great price for the rumored hardware, but $249 is even better. Since the only good business reason to release an iPad mini in today's tablet market is to widen the mass market appeal of the iPad brand, we expect Apple to go as low as it can with the price.

Availability

Mass production of the iPad mini has reportedly already begun in earnest, and the Wall Street Journal recently cited sources that claimed Apple has asked suppliers to make "more than 10 million units" in the fourth quarter. As we noted on Monday, that number suggests Apple expects a lower-cost iPad to be a big hit this holiday season.

At the same time, Apple may also release a slightly revised third-generation iPad, leveraging the new, lower-power Qualcomm LTE baseband for improved 4G network compatibility. Apple ran into some regulatory trouble in calling the wireless broadband-capable version the "iPad Wi-Fi + 4G," because the chips only work with North American LTE networks. Using the new Qualcomm chips would improve international compatibility. The revised iPad is also expected to include the new Lightning connector.

We won't know until we know

It should go without saying that none of these details are a lock until Apple actually unveils the device. What is clear, however, is that there appears to be an unusual amount of excitement for a product that Jobs himself didn't think much of only two years ago. Assuming many of the details above are accurate, how many of you plan to trade in your existing tablet for an iPad mini?

The most improbable rumor about this miniPad is the sub-par screen resolution. While 1024x768 will be able to utilize the exact same software as the iPad 2, it's clear that on-screen controls will be shrunk to 65% of the area they occupy on a 9.7" screen. That's exactly the situation which required sanding paper according to the late Mr Jobs.

I can't see Apple getting in the $250 mud to duke it out with Amazon and Google - they're able to price their products slightly higher, and wouldn't change course now. I'd think the lowest price you'd see is $300 for a 16GB model, to go against the same-priced 32GB ipod touch.

The most improbable rumor about this miniPad is the sub-par screen resolution. While 1024x768 will be able to utilize the exact same software as the iPad 2, it's clear that on-screen controls will be shrunk to 65% of the area they occupy on a 9.7" screen. That's exactly the situation which required sanding paper according to the late Mr Jobs.

The ludicrous thing about that quote is the fact that the iPhone/iPod Touch works with controls that are nearly universally smaller than those on the iPad.

The biggest question is not whether the smaller controls will be usable (if you consider the iPhone is usable then they will be) but whether or not the existing tablet apps will need to have their UI layout adjusted in order to be usable. I'd hazard a guess that a significant portion of the tablet apps won't need to have their UI adjusted at all. The smaller percentage of apps that do need to be adjusted may easily be overlookable.

All told I'm still not interested in an Apple tablet at 7inches or otherwise. I'll stick to the Nexus 7 for my tablet needs.

The most improbable rumor about this miniPad is the sub-par screen resolution. While 1024x768 will be able to utilize the exact same software as the iPad 2, it's clear that on-screen controls will be shrunk to 65% of the area they occupy on a 9.7" screen. That's exactly the situation which required sanding paper according to the late Mr Jobs.

I know you're trolling but... iOS develper guideline calls for a 44 point target. These targets have always been bigger on the ipad than the iphone.

Quote:

A 44 point target on a 7.85″ iPad would be the same size as a 44 point target on the iPhone (0.27″). Millions of people use the iPhone every day, and have little trouble tapping a 0.27″ target. As Apple has pointed out, their fingers do not change size when they move to their iPad.

Also, it's not a 7" device comparable to the Nexus 7 or kindle fire. It has nearly 40% more screen real estate. As others (ScifiGeek?) have said a 249 price is pure fantasy. Expect 299 - 349 even with a 1024x768 screen.

Since when has Apple gone as low as it can with the price? Quite possibly with the first iPad, but otherwise, they love the huge margins they get on their product. I believe $299 is the more likely price because they won't want to steal too many iPad 2 customers.

@krimhorn I agree that the quote is ludicrous, especially considering that Android handles different physical screen densities with a corresponding software setting, making different resolutions a non-issue. However, for the hard-coded iOS resolutions, controls that are too crammed may become a problem. Just imagine an app with controls such as this one:

Steve Jobs got a few things wrong in his life. (And so what?) I think this'll be announced, it will be derided by critics (maybe even myself), and it will sell gangbusters at release - oh, and it'll be every bit as good as the full-sized iPad.

@krimhorn I agree that the quote is ludicrous, especially considering that Android handles different physical screen densities with a corresponding software setting, making different resolutions a non-issue.

That's not what I've heard.

I don't think there's any OS out there that can be considered properly resolution independent.

Since when has Apple gone as low as it can with the price? Quite possibly with the first iPad, but otherwise, they love the huge margins they get on their product. I believe $299 is the more likely price because they won't want to steal too many iPad 2 customers.

Remember when everyone expected the iPad to cost $800–1000? So, I'm not ready to completely discount the $249 price just yet. But I agree that $299 is probably the most likely price, because it will largely be the 16GB iPod touch with a physically larger, though lower-pixel density screen and a larger battery.

one short year after Jobs' passing and apple is already falling to the same mistakes of the john sculley/gil amelio years.

Uh. You do know that the product development cycle for something like the iPad mini is at least 2 years, probably 3, right?. If it exists, and if it is announced before mid-2014, Jobs was involved. Doesn't mean it's a good idea, or that it will be commercially successful, but claiming that this represents some whole new post-Jobs direction is just magical thinking.

@krimhorn I agree that the quote is ludicrous, especially considering that Android handles different physical screen densities with a corresponding software setting, making different resolutions a non-issue.

I don't think there's any OS out there that can be considered properly resolution independent.

True, but Android developers can generally expect a wide range of resolutions coming at them from many OEM's, whereas iOS developers only have the relatively few resolutions found in Apple's own products. (Yes, I know iOS apps are supposed to work at different resolutions)

If this thing will indeed be priced at $249 I might indeed sell off my Nexus 7 and go for this. IF it has decent speakers and a autofocus camera. Because the speaker on the Nexus just totally sucks. You can't use it with Skype because you can't understand a word. The mics are great, but the speaker isn't.

Camera: I'm in the habit of snapping photos of documents, letters, labels, whatever with my smartphone, basically using it as an ad-hoc scanner to have the things with me in a digital form. A tablet is even better suited to that because it has a display you can actually read the things on it without zooming around like mad. Not having a halfway decent autofocus camera is a serious letdown here.

But: I don't really believe in that price range. I think it will be at $349 and just replace the iPad 2.

I never said "resolution independent". Android does offer a lot more flexibility than other mobile OSes.

Theoretically, yes. Practically what you get on a tablet is smartphone apps with lines 130 characters long, a half-empty screen and a few tiny buttons squeezed into the top-left corner and everything else hiding behind the menu button. Atrocious.

[Typed on a Nexus 7 that as always mangled three times the text I tried to edit and the quotes I tried to shorten, because text area editing in Chrome is buggy as hell and of course Android has no Undo at all it seems]

...what you get on a tablet is smartphone apps with lines 130 characters long, a half-empty screen and a few tiny buttons squeezed into the top-left corner and everything else hiding behind the menu button. Atrocious...

Steve Jobs got a few things wrong in his life. (And so what?) I think this'll be announced, it will be derided by critics (maybe even myself), and it will sell gangbusters at release - oh, and it'll be every bit as good as the full-sized iPad.

IMO Steve Jobs was right about a 7-inch tablet being too small. I've got a Kindle Fire (original) and haven't found it useful outside an airplane. I find the screen too small for anything other than watching a movie or reading during a flight - at any other time, I've either got a bigger screen available for the movie, or an e-paper Kindle for the book.

I'm not saying this is the right attitude for everyone - surely many people love the 7-inch form factor - but I would definitely advise purchasers to get a look at the actual device before buying. This could be a case where something ordered online ends up disappointing the buyer.